There is presently an extreme dearth of human cataract material because of an abrupt shift of cataract surgical technique from intracapsular (intact lens) to extracapsular (fragmented lens), primarily because of advent of the use of intraocular lens. We are exploring ways by which fragmented lens materials can be maximally used in cataract basic research through close collaboration between cataract surgeons and basic researchers and modification of techniques by both groups.